Liquid soap agitator attachment for rotary scrubbing brushes



Sept. 25, 1956 J. MILLER 2,764,394 LIQUID SOAP AGITATOR ATTACHMENT FOR ROTARY SCRUBBING BRUSHES Filed Oct. 13; 1955 INVENTOR I Jae/c Miller United States Patent LIQUID SOAP AGITATOR ATTACHMENT FOR ROTARY SCRUBBING BRUSHES Jack Miller, Philadelphia, Pa.

Application October 13, 1953, Serial No. 385,752

1 Claim. (Cl. 261-83) The present invention relates generally to floor or carpet scrubbing machines and specifically to a dispenser attachment for liquid soap to be used with a rotary brush type of floor or carpet cleaning machine.

Presently in use, such machines have a port centrally located in the rotary brush for the application of liquid soap to the surface or to the bristles of the brush and generally the how of soap is controlled by a valve in the handle of the machine. The soap, in liquid form, thusly is fed to the center of the brush where it is dripped or poured onto the surface to be cleaned.

The present invention has as its principal object to provide a dispenser for the liquid soap which changes the liquid to foam or suds before application to the carpet or floor.

A further object of the invention is to provide a device for a rotary scrubbing brush which prevents the liquid from soaking into the carpet or surface being scrubbed.

Another object of the invention is to provide a simply constructed and easily attached foaming device which may be shifted quickly and with ease from a worn out brush to a new brush.

A still further object of the invention is to provide a device for converting liquid soap to foam and suds for more readily emulsifying soluble and near-soluble dirt particles imbedded in carpets or present on floors.

Briefly described, the invention consists of at least three elements, two of which are an upper plate and a lower plate secured together by stud screws, the upper plate having an orifice for the admission of liquid soap to the central portion which is a series of rings with suitably spaced perforations and spacer walls which serve to agitate the liquid soap and whip it into a foam as it is thrown radially outwardly into the brushes. As all rotary brush machines use an annular type of brush, this invention fits into the space left in the center of the brush where there are no bristles.

These and other advantages of the invention will be understood from the following description when taken in connection with the annexed drawings in which:

Fig. 1 is a plan view partly in section of a scrubbing machine showing the location of the soap dispenser;

Fig. 2 is a perspective exploded view showing the par-ts of the invention;

Fig. 3 is a view in section taken on a diameter on line 33 of Fig. 4; and

Fig. 4 is a top view partly in section.

Referring in more particular to the drawing, a scrubbing machine is shown in Fig. 1 to have an annular ring of bristles 11. The soap dispenser 12 is shown in Fig. 2 to have a top plate 13 and a lower plate 14 to be secured together by studs 15. Lower plate 14 is threaded to receive studs 15. Lower plate 14 further has spacers 16 on the periphery thereof and, as will be seen in Fig.

2,764,394 Fatented Sept. 25, 1956 "ice Spacers 16 of which there are shown to be at least three are used to receive screws or bolts by which the invention is secured to the brush which may be of metal but generally is of wood. Studs 15 traverse holes in the inner member 21 which is seen to be composed of three concentric rings 22, 23 and 24. Rings 22, 23 and 24 are perforated at suitably spaced intervals and are separated from each other by means of blades 25 of which there are at least three. Blades 25 are not of the width of the rings 22-24 and serve as paddles to whip any liquid soap flowing through the perforations 20, rings 24 or 23. Blades 25 are also perforated by holes 19 adjacent the lower plate 14 and serve to additionally Whip up the liquid soap as admitted to the top plate 13 through the opening 26. A screen 27 of fine mesh is fixed to a ring 28 which is riveted at 29 to the ring 24. This screen 27 is at approximately the mid-way portion between upper plate 13 and lower plate 14 and serves to introduce the liquid soap to below the level of the top blade 25.

The operation of the invention is obvious from the description. Soap introduced through a central top opening 26 in top plate 14 by a conventional means not shown but integral with the scrubbing machine 10 for which no invention is claimed, is projected radially by the centrifugal motion and is whipped to a suds or froth by the paddle action of the blades 25 in coaction with the holes 20 in each of rings 2224. The screen 27 additionally breaks up the flow of liquid soap before it flows into the space between rings 23 and 24 through holes 20.

Thus it will be seen that the introduced liquid soap is, by the combination of centrifugal action and the spaced perforations in the rings, broken into a plurality of small globules. Air under atmospheric pressure will readily admix with such globlues in much the same manner as in the production of shaving lather. Due to the relatively fine diffusion of the soap, there is obviated the necessity for the introduction of air under any other pressure.

Although a single embodiment of the invention has been described and illustrated many modifications and changes may be made and are contemplated without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention, in which is claimed:

A soap dispenser attachment for use with a rotary type of floor scrubbing machine comprising a relatively thin disc-shaped body having a centrally located aperture in the upper side thereof, an inner member separating the upper and lower sides of the body, and perforations in the walls of said inner member communicating with said aperture whereby liquid soap admitted therethrough is whipped into foam under influence of rotary motion of said body, radial blades in said inner member, said blades being approximately one-half the height of said inner member and having perforations adjacent the lower side of said body.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 522,217 Josephy July 3, 1894 560,995 Hopkins May 26, 1896 1,057,613 Baldwin Apr. 1, 1913 1,223,083 Lynn Apr. 17, 1917 1,578,013 Case Mar. 23, 1926 2,078,250 Hurlburt Apr. 27, 1937 2,281,616 Placek May 5, 1942 2,281,796 Podbielniak May 5, 1942 2,301,851 Boerger Nov. 10, 1942 

